President Donald Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, overturning a conviction that sent the onetime U.S. ally to prison for 45 years on drug trafficking charges. The pardon, formally issued Dec. 1, triggered immediate backlash from lawmakers across the political spectrum who questioned how the move aligned with the administration’s hardline stance against narcotics flowing into the United States.
Hernandez walked out of a federal prison in West Virginia after the pardon was issued. The former Honduran leader had been convicted in March 2024 following a three-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York on charges of conspiring to import cocaine and weapons offenses. Federal prosecutors said Hernandez used his position as president from 2014 to 2022 to facilitate the importation of more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
Judge P. Kevin Castel, who sentenced Hernandez on June 26, 2024, also ordered the former president to pay an $8 million fine. The conviction marked a stunning fall for a conservative leader who once partnered with U.S. law enforcement on anti-drug initiatives.
Trump defended his decision at the White House, claiming, without evidence, that the prosecution represented a setup orchestrated by the Biden administration. “If somebody sells drugs in that country, that doesn’t mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life,” Trump told reporters. He added that many people in Honduras requested the pardon and expressed satisfaction with his choice to grant it.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the case as over-prosecution by the previous administration, suggesting Hernandez faced charges because he opposed the Biden administration’s values. The White House has not provided evidence supporting claims that the prosecution was politically motivated, despite repeated assertions from Trump and his spokeswoman.
The case against Hernandez dated back to 2015, when federal investigators began examining Honduras as a major drug trafficking route. Prosecutors alleged he accepted $1 million in bribes to protect Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the notorious Sinaloa Cartel boss now serving a life sentence in the United States.
Hernandez was extradited to the United States in April 2022, shortly after completing his second presidential term. The investigation and subsequent prosecution involved Emil Bove, then a Department of Justice prosecutor who helped lead the case. Bove later became a key defense attorney for Trump in the Stormy Daniels case, and now serves as a federal appeals court judge following Trump’s nomination.
During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony from former drug traffickers and a Honduran investigator. The government argued that Hernandez protected select traffickers using state power, tipped off criminals about law enforcement checkpoints, and allowed cocaine to flow through Honduras.
Trump’s ally Roger Stone lobbied for the pardon, according to multiple reports. Hernandez had sent a letter to Trump requesting a review of his case, claiming he suffered political persecution targeting him for political reasons rather than criminal wrongdoing. Trump announced his intention to grant the pardon on November 28 in a social media post.
Ana Garcia de Hernandez, the former president’s wife, celebrated the release on social media, thanking Trump for what she called restoring their hope and recognizing a truth the family always knew. Renato Stabile, Hernandez’s attorney, confirmed the pardon was full and unconditional, expressing gratitude that Trump corrected what he termed an injustice.
The pardon drew sharp criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy questioned the logic of pardoning Hernandez while simultaneously pursuing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for drug trafficking. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine called the decision shocking, suggesting it revealed Trump cared nothing about narcotics trafficking.
The timing proved particularly awkward for the administration, which has ramped up military operations in the Caribbean targeting alleged drug boats and built up forces around Venezuela. The contradiction between pardoning a convicted drug kingpin while conducting aggressive anti-trafficking operations left some observers puzzled about the administration’s actual priorities in the region.
Prosecutors said Hernandez used drug money to fund political campaigns and protected violent cartel leaders from prosecution. The conviction represented one of the highest-profile cases involving a sitting or former head of state cooperating with international drug cartels.